In the Spring/Summer of 2024 a unique series of seminars was held in Oxford UK. The attending group of students were split into three groups and each group was given a topic seemingly unrelated to Economics. Their task was to devise a short talk using the topic as a prompt, on the theme of Economics.

These talks were NOT filmed but some notes were taken and this course is the result of this note-taking.

The purpose is to show how many many seemingly not-related-to-Economics topics can be taken and with careful application be developed into a short talk whereby economics may be learned.

The topics here are:

Horses:

• Economic perspectives of the Equine Industry

• Economic impact of horse tourism

• Summer dnamics in the Equine industry

• Supply chain and price fluctuations

• Policy and Economic planning

• Future outlook and opportunities

Sunshine

• The sunny side of Economics:

• The psychology of sunshine

• Productivity and labour markets

• Energy consumption and costs

• Agricultural economics

• Tourism and leisure industries

• Implications for Policy and planning

Economic benefits of sunshine:

• Promotion of solar energy

• Urban planning and infrastructure

• Tourism development

• Agricultural policies

• Health and wellbeing initiatives

• Educational programs

• Regulatory frameworks

Embracing summer:

• The magic of summer sunshine

• Summer and community life

• The season of growth and renewal

• Educational opportunities

• Challenges and considerations

• Consumer behaviour in summer

• Seasonal employment opportunities

• Agricultural economic impact

• Energy consumption and economics

• Tourism and local economies

• Challenges and economic strategies

As you can see – quite a few topics in a short space of time!

Who this course is for:

• All students of Economics – any level
• Anyone interested in unusual approaches to a ‘dry’ subject